There's a Force of Attraction Between People

Miss Surtr gently patted Red's little head.

"Good girl," she praised, savoring the smooth, silky texture of Red's soft gray hair. It felt incredibly pleasant to touch. If the circumstances here hadn't been so special, Miss Surtr would definitely have picked her up and given her a good RUA.

—But there was no rush. After all, she had already decided to return to Rhodes Island. And as an incredibly sharp blade and all-purpose tool, she and this Little Red Riding Hood clearly still had plenty of time to spend together.

Then she stepped into the room.

Over a thousand favorites. Nice.

My recommendation was rejected. How sad... (Correction at five in the afternoon: Turns out I was recommending it on the wrong platform!)

...But I'll consider whether to post a second update later _(:з"∠)_

Section Twenty-Two: Gravity Exists Between People

Persephone.

Persephone was the strongest and most terrifying opponent Surtr had ever encountered in this world.

She was a peerless strategist—she could use a ragtag band with no fighting spirit to crush an elite force more than twenty times its size in street combat. She could easily see through people's hearts and unravel complicated conspiracies and schemes. In her eyes, everything she could reach was a chess piece. Even the cries and flight of deserters could become deadly tools in an ambush.

She was an unparalleled Originium scholar—she could see the changes in force and energy within complex mechanical structures at a glance. She could assemble Originium weapons from a few pieces of metal and stone and send them into battle. Academic papers that ordinary people couldn't even understand were no different from children's extracurricular reading in her eyes. And if Terra had a world-famous award comparable to the Nobel Prize of Arknights, one that could guarantee impartiality, then throughout all the years she was active, the only name on the list of winners in Originium studies would have been hers.

She was also a top-notch assassin—she rarely acted, so rarely that most people who knew of her believed she was merely a frail strategist incapable of harming a chicken. Yet every assassin misled by her weak appearance and deliberately cultivated reputation met their end at her hands. She could stroll across falling snow. She could leisurely walk through a swarm of maddened bees and use a needle to paint landscapes on specific bee wings. Those whose heads she severed often didn't realize their bodies and heads had parted until they had fled ten meters.

She was strong—absurdly strong.

Aside from being unable to use excessively complicated personal Originium Arts, there were truly few things in this world beyond her capabilities. Because beyond those three points, she also possessed something that could practically be classified as a cheat—a completely shameless super cheat.

The one time Surtr had come closest to death—or, rather, had already crossed into the realm of death and returned—was when she fought Persephone at her peak as an enemy. After that battle, they laid down their weapons and became allies who could trust and support each other, and occasionally stab each other in the back.

After all...

"You can't beat me," Surtr said blandly, her gaze passing over the open Sarcophagus machine, empty inside, and looking toward the other side of the containment hall. She casually raised a hand, and a wall of flame abruptly rose beside her, blocking several sharp objects hurled at high speed. She naturally stepped half a pace forward. Laevateinn, floating around her, slashed through the air and blocked a shadow silently shooting toward Red.

Ah, that's right. You can't beat me.

Even if you were a peerless strategist, an unparalleled scholar, and the strongest assassin wielding a shameless cheat, even if you used every trick at your disposal, you still couldn't beat me.

That's why you and I made peace. That's why I appeared here in this manner, and why I still had the patience to speak with you, you brain-damaged piece of trash, Doctor.

The shadow pouncing at Red silently faded away. Red flinched, but before she could react, Miss Surtr lightly pressed down on her shoulder.

Then the shadow took human form.

Long purple hair, emerald eyes, a petite and perfectly flat figure like an eel, and a cold, indifferent face that revealed no emotion whatsoever—sometimes Miss Surtr really wanted to call this woman "Nozomi." She was simply too similar to a certain unfortunate Doctor whom Surtr had seen in her previous life while browsing the cesspool for Ansel stickers. Yet there were ultimately some differences between them, the greatest being their personalities and Heaven's Will.

Few people could make Persephone suffer setbacks—except me.

Few people could make Persephone admit defeat—I was the exception.

It had been so in the past, and it was so now.

A ring of fire then spread from around Miss Surtr, igniting the countless suspended threads that couldn't even be seen, each so fine they could have been classified as micro-carving work. Perhaps a breeze no stronger than a breath could have silently snapped them, but the instant they were all ignited, a Originium-catalyzed detonation phenomenon erupted in full!

Blazing light and fire filled the vision of all three sides.

Surtr did not move. Persephone did not move. Red was being held down and could neither move nor dare to move. Outside those three, more than seventy percent of the entire hall was covered by the Originium-catalyzed detonation phenomenon. Scorching heat and hot air streamed in all directions, and the metal floor began to melt extensively.

The wind flowed freely.

The heat was restrained, blocked, and wound around the Sarcophagus machine, forming a barrier.

Only then did those cold, silent eyes, like the eyes of an evil spirit, show the slightest ripple.

"You know me." Persephone's voice was light and soft, with even a hint of fragility. She sounded just like a well-behaved student being hit on by a delinquent JK—but Miss Surtr remained unmoved.

After all, in the eyes of this LSP, Persephone was the only person she never fantasized about and always remained wary of.

Besides...

"That isn't something you would say." Miss Surtr spoke blandly as she raised a hand and lightly stroked Laevateinn, which floated beside her in silent flames.

"That sentence reveals several pieces of information. First, you don't know me. Second, you don't know yourself. Third, you've forgotten your past. If you were the person you used to be, you would never reveal this much information in your words. Unless you deliberately did this from the beginning, intending to instill that impression in the person you were speaking to."

"Sounds like I wasn't a good person in the conventional sense before." Persephone nodded slightly, but her words were a statement rather than an expression of emotion. "And you knew me before, and understood me."

"So you're trying to determine whether I'm your enemy or your ally." Miss Surtr smiled lightly. "And you don't like being passive. You always want to keep everything under your control. So when you woke from the Sarcophagus, your decision was to capture the first people who arrived, regardless of their strength or whether they were friend or foe, even if it meant causing deaths and injuries."

Persephone did not answer. She merely glanced at the Sarcophagus machine beside her. The enormous mechanism remained open but inactive. There was no damage on either the outside or inside of the Sarcophagus.

Clearly, her escape had gone smoothly—at least "this time," it had.

"So you're my ally?" she asked.

"I'm not your enemy at present. That's all." Miss Surtr replied. "The person who was supposed to appear here wasn't me, but a good child who has genuine affection for you. I hadn't planned to meet you before she did either, but since you've already awakened ahead of time, considering how you operate, I thought I'd come over and give you a warning, so everyone can avoid awkwardness later."

Miss Surtr's words were somewhat vague. Red, standing to one side, was already dizzy-eyed, looking as if she were listening to a heavenly scripture.

Persephone, however, was not.

Persephone knew exactly what Surtr was talking about—it was her greatest secret, the support and cheat that gave her the confidence to act as she pleased and kill first regardless of friend or foe. That made her genuinely furrow her brows.

"You... really do know me very well." There was still a hint of probing in her words.

But Miss Surtr was already too lazy to keep wasting time here with her. She had confirmed one thing: Persephone had lost her memories, or rather, she had to maintain the state of "amnesia." That meant she neither intended nor was able to reveal anything about Theresia's plans, just as before.

Ha. As expected. Miss Surtr wasn't particularly disappointed.

"I do know you very well—better than your friends, and better than your enemies. After all, the fact that you can use Death Return is known by no one else in the world but me. I even know that you can rewind time at most thirty times a day, because you only have thirty acting scrolls!"

She could clearly sense Persephone's heart shudder violently once. It was an unmistakable expression of emotion, just like when Surtr had first seen through Persephone's secret and turned the tide of battle.

Yet Persephone soon calmed down.

"So you're my archrival. We fought each other to the death, then made peace after the outcome was decided because of some special circumstance?"

"Exactly."

"I analyzed my own psychology recently. My orientation should lean toward women. So you and I made peace because of a woman? And that woman is dead now, which is why I'm lying inside this machine you call the Sarcophagus?"

"Exactly."

"That woman's death had something to do with me, so you don't like me. But that woman..." She awkwardly shifted the topic. "You just said a good child would come to see me. Then that woman must have established a huge organization. And that child is her successor?"